


i spy with my little eye

by marichchchat (merglass)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Hot Mess Lê Chiến Kim, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Jealous Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Teen Romance, cute friends being cute, i think i rly dont know sorry babes, i will bully adrien i will i will do it, its just teens pining i deadass dont know what to say, kim likes marinette adrien is having a crisis, this is just a bunch of drabbles that have a overarching plot, this is marinettes morosexual awakening i can feel it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:53:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24200878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merglass/pseuds/marichchchat
Summary: ... something _________.Adrien’s grasp of teen drama and relationships are shaky at best.Marinette’s just too tired to see.Sometimes the best way to understand is to bring it back to the basics.a.k.a. How Love Colours Your World at Fifteen for Beginners
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Lê Chiến Kim, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Lê Chiến Kim
Comments: 19
Kudos: 110





	1. Beige

**Author's Note:**

> I am new to this. We're all going through very strange times. Do not judge this too harshly I am begging you I started writing this like two years ago and only found it with like three paragraphs yesterday. I really wanted to finish it :(
> 
> okay anyways enjoy your pining teens

Marinette had been having a nice, vanilla, beige day. Plain and uneventful. No pop quizzes, no especially uncommon touches from blond boys, no unfinished homework and no akuma attacks. A day like that in a life like hers was refreshing, a welcome deviation from the normally overwhelming regular rush. She loved those kinds of days.

Marinette had been having a nice, vanilla, beige day.

Until the bell rang.

Papers shuffled at the sound signalling the end of class, accompanied by a symphony of sighs. Joints and chairs alike creaking as students stretched, making moves to grab their bags and jettison out of their small prison.

"Mari, hurry up, I'm starving!" Alya wailed from the doorway, holding her bag and a sizable fluff of papers in her arms.

Marinette sifted through her loose papers, searching for a scrap she'd sketched on earlier in science. "Give me one second, I just gotta... I _know_ it's with my notes. Just go on first, I'll meet you in the courtyard!"

Alya tutted and bounced on her toes, glaring at the small girl too absorbed in her papers to notice her hungry ire. She shoved the papers into her backpack. "Fine! But if you're not out in the next five minutes, I'm sending a rescue squad!"

Marinette hummed absently in reply, the hollow rustling accompanying her vacant melody and the fading footsteps pattering down the hallway.

After a quick minute, she lifted the small leaflet with a huff of satisfaction, smoothing it out between her fingers and taking a step away back to admire the faint lines of graphite backlit by the afternoon sun glowing through the thin foolscap. Another project to start working on, and she knew just the right fabric to use for the collar–

_ Bam! _

Marinette squeaked as a weight slammed into her shoulder, sending her crinkled sheet and a roughed-up Nike bag tumbling to the ground, scattering contents everywhere and flustering both parties involved.

"Oh, Alya’s gonna _kill_ me– "

Marinette scrambled down to pick her newest design off the floor, crawling across the linoleum, searching for the tiny scrap amongst thicker textbooks and the occasional cluster of Nike wristbands.

There were a lot.

"Marinette!"

Marinette let out another squeak, thumping her head against the table she had crawled under. She moaned, clutching her head as she sought to find (through squinted, pain-addled eyes) whatever creature currently managing to match her catastrophic clumsiness.

"Shit! Hi, how are you! You look, uh, well-rested and nourished!"

Kim kneeled dumbly in front of Marinette, staring at her with glassy eyes and red cheeks. His earbuds hung limply from his fingers, the cords still swinging from the inertia of their collision. His adam's apple bobbed, his thick swallow audible in the midst of their uncomfortable silence.

“Um, thank you? As do you?”

Kim’s eyes sparkled.

“... Are you okay, Kim? You look kinda feverish,” She scootched forward on her knees and brushed her hands off before placing the back of her hand on Kim’s flushed forehead. At her light touch, Kim’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly. “Oh my gosh, you're super hot!”

“Thanks.”

Marinette shot Kim a withering look. She got enough of this type of behaviour on patrols with Chat, she was not going to let Kim’s uncannily Chat-like energy ruin her nice vanilla day. “I’m not kidding, Kim. You’re burning up.”

From outside the classroom, the pair heard a distant call. “Mari? Girl, what’s holding you up?” Marinette watched as Kim seemed to snap out of his trance, and began picking up his wristbands with fervour.

“Give me a minute, I’ll be out in a few!” Marinette pleaded, standing up from her place on the ground. She held a hand out to Kim, who was in the process of shoving a pair of worn shoes into his very full duffel. He looked up at her proffered hand and quickly stuffed the last of his lumpy bag in and took her hand gently.

“Come on, maybe I should take you to the nurse’s... or at least a  _ pharmacie _ .” Standing up, he towered over her, already nearly 1.8 meters at fifteen. Kim let out the tiniest laugh, more of a huff with a smile, but Marinette took it well, glad that her friend was at least capable of positive emotion. He took her hand in both of his and gave a grateful squeeze.

“Thanks, Mari, it’s really sweet of you to– ”

“Marinette? Are you ok? Alya said terrible things were happening and I don’t know what to believe from her anymore, so she sent me to come check- ” Adrien’s designer sneakers squealed against the flooring as he skidded to a halt.

Kim and Marinette snapped around to look at the stuttering blond in the doorway. He stared back.

“On -” His eyes flickered down to their conjoined hands. Marinette began to notice how fiercely close she was to Kim’s chest.

“You. I gotta go, sorry for interrupting!” Adrien, cheeks ruddy, sped off, leaving Marinette and Kim to jump apart and call desperately for his return.

Realising the futility of their shouts as they heard a shrill, “ _ c'est vrai _ ?” ringing through the corridors, Kim winced in Marinette’s periphery as her cheeks coloured against her volition. He set her hand down gently and cleared his throat.

“I’m really okay. I’m not sick or anything, I swear! You know me, I  _ never _ get sick.” He paired a wink with his trademark cockiness but seemed to deflate in relief when Marinette let out a string of giggles. He was so sweet when he wasn't yelling. Or setting up a gambling pool. More than tolerable, really!

“Okay,  _ okay _ , if you really swear! Just, take care of yourself okay?” She punctuated her request with a gentle sock to his arm, and he took it dramatically, wincing and hissing in faux pain. She bit her lip, buttoning in the laughs threatening to tumble off the edge of her mouth.

“Oh, hey, before you go,” He holds out her scrap of paper, with the sketchy design of a pea coat etched into the worn paper. Marinette gasps, picking it out of his calloused hands. “Wouldn't wanna lose it. It's a really cool jacket! You're super talented.”

“Oh my gosh, Kim, thank you! I was looking for it! Thanks.” She leapt towards him, accosting him with a brief hug, and teetered back on her feet.

“Thank you so much, I  _ so _ owe you, but I really gotta go find Alya. She’s gonna have my head if I'm not out in like... two minutes ago.”

True to form, Alya cries out. “Marinette, Adrien’s gone bald!”

_ “I have not!” _

“He has and you better come out and see it!” Marinette cringes and shoulders her bag. She motions to the door and runs out, waving to Kim as she makes a beeline for the courtyard.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Duh, Dupain-Cheng.” Kim rolled his eyes, eliciting yet another laugh as Marinette tore down the hallway.

In her departure, desperate to return to the promise of continuing her very beige day, Marinette, missed the fervent way Kim wrung his hands together, squeezing his fingers where they’d touched hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i show my love for adrien by making him alya's punching bag. he will be ruthlessly bullied, you just wait


	2. Rose (Pink)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is the poster boy for Parisian himbos. Non-threatening, but stupid. They're going to get some ice-cream!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took my time, I was making fancams with my friends. He made one of the Kool-Aid Man, I made one of Adrien Agreste because I was struck with inspiration. We both went to school and studied media, like... we're certified and we used that diploma to make trash.
> 
> Here: https://marichchchat.tumblr.com/post/618738745403916288/we-need-more-fancams-of-adrien-is-all-im-saying
> 
> Let's be friends babey!!! @marichchchat on tumblr

The walk to the _glacier_ was not far, but to Adrien, it stretched on for miles on end. Nino and Alya teetered ahead, shrieking with laughter at a joke only they could hear. Alya was dangling off of Nino’s shoulders, clutching tight to his neck in piggyback, ignoring his protests for fresh air. Her ponytail bounced to the beat of Nino’s sneakers against the dry concrete, as the two moved in tandem to hoist her higher onto his back. Stark was the contrast between them and the pair that straggled behind, casting furtive glances at the other as inconspicuously as possible.

Adrien scrambled for a topic to offer the (unfortunately, characteristically) rigid Marinette, brandishing it like an olive branch in a storm.

“So, congratulations! I didn’t know you two were so close! Nice.”

_Nice?_

Marinette looked up from the ground she was treading, face littered with her confusion. Her mouth opened as if to say something but oh, if Adrien was not one to stick his Agreste-brand shoes further into his fat, gaping mouth.

“Kim! You and Kim. Your skin tones are very compatible, as my father might say. Complementary!” Marinette looked as horrified as he felt. _How do you turn your brain off?_ Adrien nursed his bottom lip between his teeth as he settled for a good hard pinch to the wrist as due punishment. _How do you turn off a brain if you don’t have one?_ He could almost hear Plagg snicker. Adrien watched as Marinette turned a deep pink, floundering and sputtering, having a near aneurysm at his suggestion.

_She must really like him._ Adrien sighed wistfully. _I wonder what it’s like to have someone love you like that._

“It’s not like that!”

He locked his verdant eyes with her bluebell ones, staring hard at an increasingly bewildered Marinette. _Can you hear me? If there exist magical catboys and ladyma’ams, casual telepathy is definitely still on the table._

“Are you okay?” Marinette squinted under the glare of his contemplative gaze.

_oh, what if she can hear me and she’s just being nice?_

Adrien hadn’t realised they had paused in their walk until he heard the couple ahead of them whistle for their attention. _Telepathy, to the backburner._

“Slowpokes! Whatcha doin’ back there!” Nino hollered.

Alya popped out from an alley and made some obnoxious kissy noises. Without hesitation, Marinette sprinted to tackle her with surprising speed into the side road leading to the _glacier_. Nino, ignoring Alya’s cries for help, held his arms open dramatically, smugly inviting Adrien to leap into them.

  
“There’s a big ass lemon sorbet waiting for you inside, _mon_ dude. _Mon chéri_. _Mon bébé._ Hurry up!”

As he ran into Nino’s arms (complete with a vivacious swing and a gentle noogie), letting himself get dragged off to the awaiting ice cream shop, Adrien Agreste could only think of two things. The way his stomach pulled at the innocuous thought of Kim’s honey-tinted hands gingerly clutching Marinette’s rosy own, and how vibrant the colour was of Marinette’s pretty blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mm feels weird seeing them all as friends. maybe because canon refuses to feed us
> 
> ok sorry this was very short. more 2 come


	3. Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class participation and quiet conversations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys are doing well in the midst of these trying and honestly very depressing times. personally I'm fine, but it weighs you down a lot, both mentally and emotionally :( anyway, here's the chapter, I hope it makes you smile; I love giving nino more presence in this fic since there's so little of him in canon material
> 
> already halfway through the next chapter (a long one yikes), so enjoy this and hopefully, the next one will be out soon? hopefully
> 
> ok enjoy

The sunlight streaming through the high windows of the classroom glinted off textbooks, plastic water bottles and spectacles, casting a flurry of light spots around the room as the students within it chattered and scooted around minutes before the morning bell was due.

Caline Bustier, the ever-patient and long-suffering, enjoyed her slow walk to the classroom, already hearing the raucous din that awaited her. As she neared the door, material dutifully in hand, she heard another, slightly more alarming din making its way towards her. With a guess already in place, she stepped cautiously towards the wall and permitted herself a glance over her shoulder. Sprinting with her knees high, face red, breath wispy, came Miss Punctuality herself, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Bustier bit back her chuckle as Marinette skidded to a halt, used the door frame as an anchor and slung herself into the classroom right before her teacher could make it in.

Strolling in as the bell went off, the teacher watched as Marinette scooted into her seat, accompanied by quiet greetings from the classmates around her.

“Good morning, class!”

* * *

The perfunctory morning _“_ _Bonjour, Madame Bustier_ _”_ collected and calmed the teenagers in the room, as Mdm Bustier began roll call. Ticking off the final names and setting her file down, she cleared her throat and looked up at the waiting faces.

“As you all know, this Saturday, the Paris Youth Triathlon is being held and we’re very proud to be supporting one of our very own, Kim, who will be completing the entirety of the race against a few other student representatives from both our school and our own.”

Kim, very on-brand, rose to the thunderous applause of his class, mock-shushing them with overplayed modesty and blowing kisses to his adoring crowd. Amongst the cheers and hollers of his classmates surrounding him, Adrien sighed. Nino spared him a quick glance in between his own whoops and nudged him. “Dude,” He whispered under his breath. “Why didn’t you sign up? I thought you wanted to try it out, the whole track and field business. Or whatever a triathlon is.” Adrien pouted sullenly, politely clapping while the class settled down.

“It’s the chlorine. Father said it’ll ruin my hair and skin. Besides the scheduling conflicts. Don’t really have time for both training and...” Adrien sighed, picturing his ever-tightening timetable in his mind. “And everything else.” Uncomfortable with the furrowed brow of concern and general disapproval gracing his friend’s features, Adrien quickly brightened as class announcements carried on.

“It’s all good! That just means I get more time to spend with my friends! It’s gonna be so fun watching it with you guys.” Nino let slip a short laugh, and tossed an arm over Adrien’s shoulder, pulling him close.

“Aw man, you don’t even know. It’s gonna be the best time, I promise.”

Mdm Bustier trundled on. “Before we get started with class, I just want to remind you all that we _will_ be making the banners after school tomorrow. It’s a lot of work, but we’ll be working as a team to bring them together!” Adrien followed her gaze as it flickered to his side of the class. She nodded at Marinette, the class president, ready for her delegation.

“Marinette, of course, will be in charge of this project. So, if you have any questions, approach her and if you both need it, I will always be here to help.”

“Go, Marinette! Whoo!” Kim called from his seat at the back, opening up the class to another bout of laughter and cheers. Adrien bit his tongue, hearing Marinette giggling behind him.

_It wasn’t that funny._ He laughed anyway.

“Alright! Turn your pages to page forty-seven please, and let’s read it out together. Ready? Begin. _I wandered lonely as a cloud_ – ”

* * *

Painting classmates and parchment paper littered the floor as Marinette stepped around them gingerly, begging Tikki in her mind to grant her a little more grace so she wouldn’t tip over an open jug of acrylic paints or even worse, the canister of glitter sitting precariously close to a poster-in-progress. She made a mental note to move that as soon as possible. An accident waiting to happen.

“Hey, Marinette!” Marinette yelped at the sudden voice, twisting and stumbling backwards, knocking the bottle of glitter over, effectively bedazzling a wet ‘M’ someone had just painted. A couple of heads turned to watch the commotion, warranting snickers and a couple of playful groans. She moaned in despair as she bent down to gently shake off the excess glitter off the paper, and went to work, sweeping the glitter into one slowly growing mound.

“Oh, man… Sorry ‘bout that.” Nino said as he squatted next to her to help. Marinette sighed and grinned ruefully at her friend.

“You’re a pain, you know that? You should know by now, you– ”

“Can’t sneak up on a Marinette Dupain-Cheng, yes, yes, I’m sorry. Slipped my mind, I’m the worst.” Nino finished off. They both laughed and sat back on their haunches on the steps behind them, dusting specks of glitter off their hands. Marinette surveyed the work before her for a moment before Nino nudged her shoe with the toe of his own.

“So what’s up with Kim?” Marinette, eyes still on the sparkly paper, flushed, thinking of Adrien’s assumption from a few days earlier. Looking around furtively to make sure no one else was close enough to hear his question, she wrinkled her nose as she picked a piece of lint off her jeans.

“Weird question. Why are you asking?” Her heart made an extra little tap. “Did Adrien say something?” Nino, to her chagrin, laughed.

“Adrien? No, not really. Just Friday when he said he saw you guys holding hands or something.” Marinette keened, eyes wide in mortification and gripped Nino’s windbreaker.

“Oh, _no_ ,” She gurgled. “Tell me you’re joking.” Nino winced, prying her hands off his sleeve, already pulled taught by her fingernails.

“Bro, chill. It’s all good. I mean, if you guys are hush-hush it’s fine and whatever– ”

“We are _not_ hush-hush.”

He opened his mouth and was cut off yet again. “It’s not what you think.”

Nino pursed his lips and looked at Marinette, and Marinette set her petulant glare on high and refused to blink back.

  
“I asked you what was up for a reason, ‘Nette.”

Marinette’s heaty glare dissolved slowly, tension leaving her face and letting sheepishness replace it. She crossed her legs and leaned back against the step above the one she sat on.

“I really don’t know what’s up! I bumped into Kim and we just happened to be standing pretty close when Adrien came to check on me. Kim’s been pretty much the same since then too, so I don’t know why you and Adrien think there’s anything different happening.”

Nino went quiet, blinking silently at the chalkboard at the front of the room. It was dusty and covered in words and small doodles. A class reminder of their banner-making date and time was scribbled into a corner, signed with a classic loopy Marinette signature, crowned with a less than usual, crudely drawn smiley face etched above her name.

“Kim _has_ been the same.” He muttered, head cocked to the side. Marinette’s eyes bounced between Nino’s profile and the board in front of them.

“Okay,” She said, watching Nino’s eyes widening in apparent realisation. She waited for an explanation, but none came; just a conspiratory _hmm_ from the boy next to her. “What?”

The rustle of his nylon coat broke his silence for him as he shrugged noncommittally.

“Nah, I figure it’s not really my thing to say or, y’know, talk about. Just thought of something! Don’t worry about it.” With the heel of his shoe, he gently pulled the unfinished, still wet and sparkly banner towards the two of them. Marinette made a quiet noise of protest but watched Nino pick up a handful of the spilt silver glitter. “Why don’t we just cover the rest of the letters in glitter? Make it complete!”

Marinette nodded in assent and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess we could! We can always outline the words in black later. Oh, it’ll be so pretty!” Nino laughed as he dumped half of his glitter into her awaiting hands.

As the rest of the class shuffled around them working hard to prepare the banners for the big race, Nino and Marinette spent the rest of their allocated decorating time sprinkling silver specks onto their shared banner and outlining bubbly, fat letters in black marker, chatting about their days and friends and days to come, the unspoken realisation Nino might or might not have had now sitting comfortably in the back of their minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> talk to me on tumblr @ marichchchat :)


End file.
